Death toll in Sunday storm mounts to 62, maximum casualties in Uttar Pradesh

The death toll in the sudden thunderstorm and squall on Sunday has mounted to 62. The maximum number of deaths have been reported from Uttar Pradesh where at least 39 people died following the sudden change in weather.

The death toll in the sudden thunderstorm and squall on Sunday has mounted to 62. The maximum number of deaths have been reported from Uttar Pradesh where at least 39 people died following the sudden change in weather.

Apart from Uttar Pradesh, at least 12 people died in West Bengal, nine in Andhra Pradesh and two in Delhi-NCR as thunderstorm accompanied by rain and lightning struck at several places across the country.

There seems to be no end to the misery as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued yet another warning for thunderstorm and squall in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Odisha.

According to the IMD, wind speed reaching 50-70 km per hour is very likely at isolated places over Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Odisha, while thunderstorm and gusty winds are expected in parts of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Similar predictions have been made for Gangetic West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Telangana, Rayalaseema, south interior Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The weather department has further predicted duststorm in parts of Rajasthan and heavy rain in Odisha.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "Saddened by the loss of lives due to storms in some parts of the country. Condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the speedy recovery of those injured."

Condoling the deaths, Congress president Rahul Gandhi in a tweet asked party workers to provide all assistance to the bereaved families.